NORTH HOLLYWOOD • Granite Hills cruised past Oakwood 5-0 to advance out of the wild card round on Tuesday and into the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 first round.

The Cougars will battle Condor League champion Cate in Carpenteria at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Cougars' senior Niels Woods scored two goals in the first half to stake Granite Hills to a 2-0 halftime advantage. The Cougars kept on rolling in the second half, with goals scored by Christian Lugo, Ryan Dinkerton and another netter by Woods for the hat trick.

Jarred Kachelski and Danny Arreola each had two assists in the match.

"We're happy to be in the playoffs, and to represent our school and our league," Granite Hills coach Paul Casarez said.

The win comes in the wake of recent controversy over the eligibility of a player. The player in question allegedly participated in a league outside of CIF during the season, and the Cougars had to forfeit all of their matches that took place after Jan. 10.

Casarez said the controversy has "motivated us more than ever now."

When asked what their motivation was, Casarez said it was to prove "that we're still the same team."

• APPLE VALLEY 3, WEST SHORES 1: At Thermal, Anthony Caudle scored two second-half goals and dished out an assist in the first half to help the Sun Devils win its CIF-Southern Section Division 5 wild-card match at Desert Mirage High School.

With the win, Apple Valley (11-10-4) will now travel to Cajon for a first round match on Thursday.

"We played well together as a team," Apple Valley coach Chris Reeves said. "We stayed composed. It was a good win for the team."

Sam Howard scored in the first half, and the Sun Devils led 1-0 heading into halftime. Apple Valley never trailed in the match.

Nick Garrett had an assist, and goalkeeper Marcello Vides made six saves. Reeves credited Daniel Rosales for a strong defensive effort at sweeper.

Apple Valley, which finished fourth in the Mojave River League and received an at-large bid for the postseason, advanced to the quarterfinals in last year's playoffs.

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